I read turf grass periodicals while exercising and ran across a few tidbits I'd like to share with you. Credit is given to Dr. Karl Danneberger at "The" Ohio State University. Does anyone know why the "The" was used in the title? It came as a result of a lawsuit with "The University of Ohio" or was it "The Ohio University?" Whatever.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2011 was the second warmest year on record. 2010 was the fourth warmest. In fact eight of the warmest years recorded since 1880 have occurred since 2001.
The reason he cited these facts is because stress accumulates over time and the consecutive hot summers has clearly stressed turf. We can attest to that point and painfully I point to the conditions of our greens this past summer.
What can we do? Simple, increase the amount of venting through aerification to modify the root system. Reason? Air cools faster than water.
Lets pray Mother Nature gives us a break this year and we start out the year with little to no winter injury. Mk
